History
Royale Energy merged with Matrix in 2018, then spent years in financial strain before buying Texas Barnett shale wells with its own cash in 2025.
2017-2018: The Matrix merger
Royale Energy set out in February 2017 to combine with privately held Matrix Oil Management under a new Delaware holding company that kept the Royale name. Royale's California shareholders converted one for one, while the Matrix group received shares equal to Royale's fully diluted count, so the two sides came out roughly level. Matrix brought producing oil properties in the Los Angeles and San Joaquin basins, including the Sansinena field. Shareholders approved the deal in November 2017 and it closed on March 7, 2018. Shares on issue rose from 21,850,185 at the end of 2017 to 49,421,387 a year later.
The cash pressure showed almost at once. In April 2018 Royale put nearly all its and Matrix's operating properties into a new joint venture, RMX Resources, for a 20% stake plus up to $20 million, most of it needed to repay Matrix's senior lender and trade payables. Partner CIC RMX LP put in $25 million for 80% and a warrant for 4 million Royale shares at $0.01.
2018-2023: Drilling hopes and going-concern doubts
In October 2018 Royale signed a three-year, 30-well deal with California Resources Production Corp to drill the Rio Vista gas field, earning 60% of wells it drilled. It had to drill at least 8 wells, or spend $9 million, in year one. In January 2019 Royale announced that it had issued a press release on recent natural gas well results, but the filing gave no well names or figures.
The disclosures then show a company under strain. Auditors raised going-concern doubts, meaning doubt that the company could keep operating, and Royale changed auditors several times through 2023. Shares on issue climbed steadily to 70,564,188 by the end of 2023, though the beats do not detail why.
2024-2025: Restructuring and a return to buying
In February 2024 Royale borrowed $1.4 million, with room for up to $3.0 million, from Walou Investments, a lender controlled by CEO Johnny Jordan, who owned 14.8% of the stock. Disinterested directors approved the secured loan, which came after going-concern doubts had made outside funding hard to find.
In October 2024 Royale removed its Series B Convertible Preferred Stock, issued to Matrix's former owners in 2018. It paid with 22.2 million new common shares, $2.5 million of senior notes, options on 25 million shares at $0.10, half its Alaska royalty interests and its Kern County, California real property. Shares on issue reached 96,600,302.
In September 2025 Royale paid $1.5 million of its own cash for non-operated interests in seven producing Barnett shale wells in Ector County, Texas. In November 2025 its auditor transition to BDO came without going-concern language. As of that date, Royale held a 20% stake in RMX Resources and its Rio Vista program with CRPC.
Written from the 8 story beats below (2017 to 10 Sept 2025), which come from the company's own announcements and filings.